Lightning defeat Maple Leafs in OT in Game 6, push series to limit

TAMPA -- Brayden Point scored with 1:56 left in overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning evened their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-3 win in Game 6 at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

Point scored on a rebound shot that trickled past Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell's pad before being inadvertently put into the net by Michael Bunting.
"[Brandon Hagel] does a good job to pick off the pass [and] driving the net is something we've tried to focus on this series," Point said. "Hagel makes a great play to [Alex Killorn] and 'Killer' puts the puck on net. The rebound comes to me and, fortunately, it went in."

Game 7 will be in Toronto on Saturday.
"We know all we did was buy ourselves another chance to keep our season going," Point said. "Going into their building, their crowd has been rocking. They play really good there. We just want to focus on a good start and see what happens."
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves, and Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Anthony Cirelli scored for Tampa Bay, the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning are 17-0 in the postseason following a loss since the beginning of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last time they lost two consecutive postseason games was in 2019, when they were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round.
"Losing two in a row is never a good thing in the playoffs," defenseman Victor Hedman said. "It's been back and forth the whole series and now we've got to win coming off of a win. It was the best out of seven, then the best out of five, best out of three and now it's the best out of one."
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Lightning series coverage]
John Tavares scored twice in 26 seconds in the second period, and Campbell made 31 saves for Toronto, the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic.
"Not a lot between the two teams, which is why you get it to overtime," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Loved how we played in overtime. We attacked, we had chances, plenty of opportunities to finish it, and really gave them nothing until they had the look, and they made good on their one look, so that's the difference."
Kucherov scored a power-play goal on a 5-on-3 at 9:20 of the third period to tie it 3-3.
"I've watched [the power play] do it a ton," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You're not going to score every single time, but clearly we needed it there. That was one we needed and 'Kuch' delivered."
Tavares made it 3-2 at 19:52 of the second period, kicking a no-look pass from William Nylander off his skate to his stick and finishing with a snap shot from the slot. The Maple Leafs captain tied it 2-2 at 19:26 with a shot that deflected off Vasilevskiy's pad and went over his back and into the net.
"We just kept on competing, just kept our composure, and we just kept playing," Tavares said. "We worked, got the lead. Unfortunately, it didn't work out where we were able to hold it, but we stayed with it. We kept pushing, finding chances and opportunities. We had looks."

Palat gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 17:38 of the first period during 4-on-4 action. Maple Leafs forward Alex Kerfoot's back pass did not connect in the neutral zone and Palat picked up the loose puck before scoring past the blocker of Campbell.
Cirelli extended the lead to 2-0 at 10:46 of the second period, scoring shorthanded with a spin-move in the right circle.
"It was kind of a lucky play there," Cirelli said. "I was just trying to get it on net and [Campbell] played it well on taking the angle away, so ... yeah, a lucky goal."
Auston Matthews cut it to 2-1 at 11:40 with a redirect off a shot by Mark Giordano.
"We had our chances, I thought," Matthews said. "We did a lot of good things but, obviously, we couldn't get the job done. We're going back on home ice with another opportunity to close out a series, do or die, so I think the guys are excited about that, and I think we should be."
NOTES:Nylander had two assists to become the first Maple Leafs player to have multiple points in three consecutive playoff games since Gary Roberts and Alyn McCauley each did so in three straight in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Ottawa Senators. … The Lightning are 11-1 when scoring first in elimination games. … Point became the second player in Tampa Bay history to score an overtime goal in a game where the team faced elimination, joining Martin St. Louis (Game 6 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final). … Hedman led all skaters with 31:43 of ice time. Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin was second with 30:15.